After 80 days in beautiful Boquete Panama we bid farewell to Roger, our gracious host, but not goodbye. We hope to see him again somewhere along our travels.

We boarded a series of buses that took us to the little town of Santa Catalina on the pacific coast of Panama. Here we met up again with Glenn, one of Roger’s friends whom we met in Boquete, who owns Coiba Dive Center. We signed up for a three-day diving trip in the Coiba National Park, one of the last virgin areas in all of Central America.

Bright and early the morning of Day 1, Alberto our divemaster suited us up with wetsuits, masks and fins. He speaks English well, with a distinct Italian accent, and his easygoing attitude put us at ease with him right away.

Alberto, our divemaster

We met the other divers as we were getting ready: Jenifer is laboratory professional who is in the middle of a long vacation throughout Panama. Toshi and Tosha are dive buddies who work together – he is a documentary film director from NY and she works in the arts sector in FL. They had been in Coiba a few weeks prior and they liked it so much that they simply had to return. All of them have years of diving experience.

The small group of five was the perfect size.

Toshi, Alberto, Tosha, Trin, Jenifer

It is an hour and a half boat ride to the Coiba Islands but Alberto mixed it up with a couple of dives along the way. Within the very first dive of this trip, we saw sharks. Some of them hung out on the ocean floor while the others swam around.

“Sharks Guaranteed,” claims the Coiba Dive Center website. And they deliver right off the bat.

White-tip reef shark. Photo credit: Toshi Sakai

After the first dive we were taken to an island beach where we had snacks and beverages while the crew changed out the tanks. The sand was white and the water was clear. There was a huge boulder sticking upward in the middle of the tiny island.

“That kind of looks like James Bond island,” Jenifer said. I’ve never been there, but an Asian tour is in our future, and Thailand is a definite stop.

There were a lot of tiny hermit crabs on the sand and they started grabbing the little pieces of food that fell between our pruny fingers. Several hermit crab brawls broke out as the clumsy, asymmetrical crustaceans fought for the airdopped Stax chips.

Back in the boat as we headed for the second dive site Tosha started laughing. “I just had a thought,” she said, “If we keep feeding those hermit crabs like that, one day, when we come back, they will all be in conch shells.”

“And eventually they will just wrap themselves in seaweed, like sweatpants!” Jenifer replied. We had us a funny bunch.

I was feeling a bit of anxiety before each dive but tried to ignore it and instead thought about the feeling on my last dive in Bocas del Toro where I fell in love with diving.

The second dive was just as good, teeming with underwater life. We saw more sharks, moray eels, turtles, rays, sea snakes, lobster, all kinds of fish, and an octopus whose body was the size of two softballs.

It’s the stuff of underwater documentaries that you see on TV, and we did it like they do in the Discovery Channel. The diving part.

Green Spiny Lobster. Photo Credit: Tosha Grantham

Our GoPro Hero Session was only rated waterproof for up to 10 meters so we couldn’t take it diving with us. Fortunately, Toshi and Tosha had underwater cameras and they sent us some of their pics and videos.

Green Moray Eel in Coiba waters. Photo Credit: Toshi Sakai

In time for lunch, we arrived at the northern tip of the uninhabited island of Coiba which would be our home for the next three days. Our chef prepared delicious meals for us and we ate heartily before we filled out our dive logs.

We had a few hours before the afternoon dive. Time to relax. We lay on the hammocks, walked the beach, hiked in the woods, or just hung out.

On the third and last dive of the day my regulator stopped working and no air was coming in at all. Thankfully we were at our five meter safety stop on the way up so I was right next to Alberto. I took the regulator out of my mouth and signaled out of air, reaching out with my other hand requesting his emergency regulator. As I brought his yellow emergency life saver to my mouth I hoped that there was enough air left in my lungs to purge the regulator and get air.

Thankfully it worked and I faced downward enjoying some air and trying to relax. Then I saw a large long tail sting ray below us and excitedly pointed it out. Alberto tested my regulator and it worked for him so we switched back before the three minute safety stop was up and I was able to ascend on my own.

Photo Credit: Tosha Grantham

After the dive, we moored again to another island beach for snacks. Since it was the last dive of the day, we popped beers and they tasted better than what a Panamanian island lager could ever hope to be.

Dolphins swimming with our boat. Photo Credit Tosha Grantham

Dinner time back in the main Coiba island had more beer and a couple bottles of wine. We filled out our dive logs and exchanged stories. Later, we all walked in the dark beach to look for Tito. He is a saltwater crocodile who hangs out on the beach. He didn’t make an appearance although we saw him the next day in the surf.

Tito, the resident saltwater crocodile. Photo Credit: Tosha Grantham

This was how it went for the two days that followed: two dives in the morning with a secluded beach stop in between, lunch at the main island, a few hours to relax, third dive in the late afternoon with a beach stop, beers, dinner, and more beer. And the company of a really good group.

Vultures on their morning ritual of drying their wings

On the first dive of the second day my increasing anxiety took over. The entire 55 min under water I struggled to pull in air through my regulator. I had to talk myself out of a panic and force myself to simply breathe and calm down. I was 90 feet (27 meters) under water and struggling to breathe.

I told myself to calm down. I knew my anxiety was the contributing issue. People die from letting fear take over. I knew I needed to fight this fear and I wanted to conquer it. I focused my sight on our divemaster in front of me and tried to push all other thoughts from my head except to simply breathe and follow him. Oh, and also look at that cool octopus!

I was feeling lightheaded on the beach during the interval after that dive. “I think I’ll sit out the next dive,” I told Alberto our divemaster. He had my regulator swapped out for a new one but I was still too lightheaded to go down again and did not want to put anyone else on the team in jeopardy because of my weakness. I felt like a failure letting fear hold me back.

Secluded beach between dives

When we arrived at the next dive location I suited up and told Alberto I would get in the water but would stay at the surface. I hoped that doing this would help me get used to the equipment and get over my increasing anxiety and near panic I was feeling on the ocean floor.

Alberto our divemaster. Cool as a sea cucumber.

I had a very pleasant hour in the water, one hand on the anchor rope just floating along breathing easily underwater, getting comfortable with the equipment. A large school of barracuda came toward me and swam around me, it was amazing.

The most beautiful jelly fish floated by, it was clear with tiny pink and yellow neon strips down its sides. I looked down to see a white tipped reef shark swimming just below me and I smiled. The ocean truly is spectacular.

Trin later teased that I was snorkeling with too much equipment.

Bonnie near the boat anchor rope. Photo Credit: Toshi Sakai

The hour on the surface with my equipment seemed to give me the positive reinforcement I needed. I got used to the regulator and did not feel any anxiety the remainder of the trip. The rest of the dives were absolutely amazing and I was able to enjoy them panic free.

We floated in the center and gazed through our masks in sheer joy. Schools of fish swam and moved together turning back and creating patterns just like huge flocks of birds do in the air. The repeated patterns of nature whisper again to me of a common Artist.

Cool tree roots on one of the islands we stopped on for an interval between diving

On another dive we stopped at a large drop-off of an undersea ridge where the currents met. In front of me were more fish than I had ever seen in an entire aquarium. Schools of Jacks, rainbow fish, machete and more swirled before us with a few sharks navigating in and out of the schools. I floated there suspended in awe at the abundance of life before me. At one point a large diamond stingray emerged from the deep blue waters beyond us. All of us paused and floated above it as it glided through the water just beneath us.

The entire three days were simply amazing. We felt like every need we had was taken care of.

White tip reef sharks. Photo Credit: Toshi Sakai

I highly recommend Coiba Dive Center. Alberto is an excellent divemaster and watched out for all of us. By the end of the last dive I felt very comfortable with diving again. Thankfully we had a great team of divers to hang out with. We didn’t have to worry about anything for three days, just dive, view the amazing world under the sea, eat and sleep peacefully, wake up to the sound of howler monkeys and repeat. Absolutely wonderful time and near the top of my list for recommended vacations to all my friends.

Trin posing for a picture on the ocean floor. Photo Credit: Toshi Sakai

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10 thoughts on “Swimming with Sharks in Coiba”

Looks like an absolutely amazing experience!! To have so much time and see so many different places. And all the different animals you got to see..! So good that you overcame your panic 🙂
Maria @ http://momentumtravels.com

I am so sorry to have learned later what the angst was, though I completely understand. I learned how to dive at a time when nearly debilitating claustrophobia was affecting many aspects of my life – and especially on airplanes. I was encouraged by Toshi who, as a former diver, explained this world existed in such a way that it inspired him to recertification and me to new certification three years ago. It’s taken that long with annual dives to feel like a fish in water. And now it occupies a lot of my thinking on the surface… I’ve had some super harrowing moments on the way to feeling as comfortable as I do as a new diver with a camera. Coming to terms with my space under water has helped me to claim and reposition on land the life that I believe in and walk, swim, fly…

I will always embrace a beginners mind in diving because each time one goes down you are faced with new circumstances and perhaps problem solving. The experience is largely connected to breath, peace and awareness, and in tune with that, the wonders never cease to amaze. It’s all go with the flow. It’s an awesome 360 degree experience to champion every time, in the moment. AND it gave me some extreme skill sets for upending my unbearable claustrophobia on land.

Additionally, the peace of mind that allows one into a school of fish without them scattering is super special. I am grateful to have that experience with documentation to share. I can’t wait to get back under.

I can only encourage you on this nomadic journey to rise above any fear that you are presented with to celebrate and thrive in your journey. Both of you – individually and together – because you are a force and special. I find that inspirational right now.

I’d look forward to diving with you any time and anywhere that we find ourselves in this world.

Thanks Tosha, I hope we do get to dive together again in the future. It is definitely an amazing experience every time! Glad to hear that it has helped you in such a way. Life is a journey with so much to learn along the way.

I’m glad for this blog because there is absolutely NO WAY that I would ever go deep sea diving. NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!! I am afraid and claustrophobic. Good for you for being able to overcome your fear. But now I can say that I have been deep sea diving; at least in my mind I have. Bwahahaha.

Such an amazing experience. I am truly amazed at how it would be to just see all those ‘TV’ fishes and crocs in front of you. Specially the fear part. When I did it, I was not so deep in the water but still was very afraid with all that pressure on your ears and salt water in Ur mouth thing. Can’t even imagine the equipment failure. He he. Keep the fun going Bonnie and Trin!